Schweet Memories and Sugarcube
by PrincessGlitch
Summary: Vanellope Von Schweetz is finally getting Sugar Rush back to the way things were before Turbo took over, but something from the past still lingers on her mind. She'll have to deal with sticky situations as her past with Taffyta tries to stay in the dark, but one racer can't help but shed some light on the situation.
1. Hopeful

Vanellope jumped out of her racing car in celebration, another successful race. But it was pretty close, without her glitching abilities she surely would have come in second.

Though this time she wasn't, and thus the 2nd place racer parked her car a few feet away from the candy coated disaster that was Vanellope's. Even so, it was freshest kart, only a few weeks old from the bakery...unlike some of the others racers karts.

Vanellope still didn't understand how her kingdom, I mean, her country even worked...you think being made of candy and sweets that these things would melt, decompose or do something, like in all the other games. I guess it was all in the coding and she couldn't ask for anything better, after all it was the code that made each of her citizens special. But speaking of coding...

"You glitched!" Taffyta said as she exited her kart, clearly mad at her 2nd place title. "You said you wouldn't do that when we raced for the random roster!" One look at her cherry red face could show the anger that was built up inside.

"I'm sorry Taffyta, it just happens sometimes, still trying to control it, and all."

and yet there was disappointment in Taffyta's expression. "You promised..." she muttered under her breath.

"I know, I shouldn't have glitched, it just gets difficult under all the pressure to be the fastest racer and all...I freak out sometimes from the nerves." Vanellope stated as she put her hand on Taffyta's shoulder.

"I know what will make you feel better, I have a surprise that I was going to show you . We can go back to my castle so you can see it and we can have a sleepover too, I know how much you love those!"

By this time the other racers had been filing up behind them as Candlehead chimed in "A Sleepover?! OH OH OH, can we pleeeeease come, we haven't had a sleepover at the castle since before King Candy... which is like foreeeever forever ago!"

Jubileena nodded her head in agreement "It's been too long, please Vanellope?"

Snowanna, Minty, Crumbelina and the other girls all began to gang up on Vanellope, with big smiles on their faces.

"I know it's been a while but I sorta had planned it just for Taffyta. I don't know if you guys should come." Vanellope said in hesitation, worried what the others might think.

"YOU ALWAYS DO STUFF FOR TAFFYTA THOUGH~!" Crumbelina whined.

"It's not fair!" Adorabeezle yelled.

"Well, it's just been a long time since I've got to hang out with my best friend...I mean, considering you all hated me up until a few weeks ago, getting everything back in order and the game up and running the way it was before King...Turbo, before Turbo took over everything, and it has been taking up all my time. It's been many years since I've gotten to spend some quality time with my best friend, but maybe tomorrow or something you guys." Vanellope admitted.

" I know!" She said remembering the date. " I'll throw a party later this week, celebrating a month since getting our memories back, that way even the boys can come."

Rancis , Gloyd and Swizzle all nodded in agreement.

"It's not fair that you guys always had your sleepovers, which we couldn't come to, now we all can have fun." Gloyd pointed out.

"Plus I'm sure they have a lot of catching up to do, considering Taffyta was the worst offender out of all of us...that is going to take a while for them to get back to normal." Rancis suggested.

Taffyta glared at Rancis for the comment...but then laughed "Yeah, it's kinda true though."

Candlehead looked at Vanellope for a moment in envy...Taffyta was her best friend. Now that all their memories are back doesn't mean that Vanellope and Taffyta get to be all buddy buddy, after all these years. After all the horrible things Taffyta did, how could Vanellope so easily excuse them? It made her feel so excluded, despite being both of their friends pre-Turbo. The jealousy inside made her not want to back off, but she knew the boundaries on the issue.

"Ok...but the party better be extravagant..." Candlehead shrugged off the matter.

The rest of the Sugar Rush Racers began to head off as it was getting late...but Candlehead had other ideas.

Rancis had been getting into his kart to drive home when he saw Candlehead walking up in his rear view mirror. She had an all too familiar grin on her face, it was one that Taffyta and her would have after coming up with an evil scheme for Vanellope's downfall...but this time, it had no justification.

But still, old habits die hard and Rancis was intrigued.

"Spill the details now...you know I love a good prank when I see one."

Candlehead's grin grew as they discussed the new steps of their plan.

-End Ch. 1-


	2. Regret

Vanellope and Taffyta parked their karts in the Main Hall of the Castle.

"Sour Bill, I'm back from the track. " Her voice echoed in the giant entryway.

Scurried footsteps could be heard coming from the left wing.

"Hello, Pri...Miss Vanellope, I see you have brought your special guest. Should I bring out the surprise we talked about?" The monotone candy man asked.

"Yes, but can you wait a second so I can talk to Taffyta and explain?" Vanellope had to say no more and he hurried back to go fetch said surprise.

"Well as you know Taffyta, it's been a while since we've really gotten to hang out alone, and well...I know it's been a few years and all...but now I remember everything...and well, I just want you to know, that no matter what, from now on, you'll always be my best friend..."

"Ok, get to the point Vanellope." Taffyta demanded in anticipation, wanting her surprise. Vanellope's surprises were always amazing, or from what she remembered, they were.

"Well, it's nothing special but...I made you something..." Vanellope motioned to Sour Bill who returned with a locked box.

Tafftya was a bit confused as Sour Bill gave Vanellope the box and once again ran off, this time he left the two alone.

"It's a locked box? What's inside of it?" Taffyta wanted to know, but was concerned...what did Vanellope put in there? Could it be a prank to get back at her, or maybe it was something gross...

"You need a key to open it, which I have here..." Vanellope reached into her jacket to pull out a key that was on a necklace she was wearing. "But lets go up to my room so we can go look at the stuff inside together!" Vanellope began to walk towards the stairs.

Taffyta paused for a moment...she was so afraid, but she thought about it and Vanellope wouldn't do something like that, especially not like this...maybe back in King Candy days, but with their newly returned memories, Vanellope wouldn't dare...because there was still something that lingered on her mind...something that needed to be discussed, but it would have to wait.

Vanellope's hand suddenly was holding onto hers.

"Jeesh Taffyta, I know it's been a long time, but did you really forget where to go in the castle?"

She began to guide her up the stairs, then down a long foyer to a room at the end. She opened the door and the light poured out. A giant chandler glistened as the warm sunset's colors reflected through the candy rocks that slowly swayed from the ceiling. Her room was just as vibrant as Taffyta remembered it, Vanellope always had a vibrant room, personality... and smile...

But Tafftya was off in her own thoughts as Vanellope led her to go sit on the giant canopy bed.

"So here's the key, now open it!" Vanellope giggled in anticipation to see what Taffyta thought of the gift...

Taffyta took the key and slid it into the lock, as she slowly twisted it open.

She lifted up the top and inside were... lots of little trinkets, knickknacks and papers...

She was somewhat confused, but upon further inspection, it wasn't just paper and knickknacks. There were notes, and in there also pictures and drawings, as well as little things, like friendship bracelets.

"These are from so long ago! Is this a picture from the first race I won? And is that a photo of when we all spent a day at coco lagoon? I remember Candlehead refused to go swimming because she was worried her flame would go out! And are these our matching candy bracelets? Where did you find all this stuff?" Taffyta continued looking through the box as Vanellope explained.

"It was all here in the castle, when I came back after the reset it put all my stuff into the closet and I found these in there**. **I think it has to do with the fact that Turbo put everything of mine or had to do with me into his possession, so it never really got deleted, the coding just changed. And when the game reset, because of where he had it stored the code, it just placed everything in one singular place when I crossed the finish line. So I took all the stuff I found and made a memory box for you, plus I added a little something in there too..."

Taffyta looked in the box, digging to the bottom to feel something cold. Upon grabbing it she realized it was another key.

"What's this for?" She asked

"Well I figured since you're my best friend and all...that you should have a key to my castle since well...I thought you could come over whenever you wanted, even if I'm not here. You can bother Sour Bill to make you something to eat, or use the hall as a racetrack or play with the Devil dogs..._or sleepover here with me and we could cuddle...like before,_ or you could play in the gumball pit..." Vanellope finally got to her point and let out a sigh from all the anxiety.

Taffyta wasn't easily shocked, and really shouldn't have been...but she wasn't expecting this from Vanellope.

"Look Vanellope...I appreciate the gesture but...I can't accept this."

"What you don't like the presents? I could get you something better if you want. " Vanellope asked

"No, they are perfect, and sweet, and adorable," She couldn't believe just how cute Vanellope was, but something still plagued her. "I just can't, not after what I did."

"But why not? I know everything that happened when King Candy, Turbo, whatever... was bad, but that was because he manipulated you to think I was bad, that I would ruin the game...it's not your fault. I can't forget the memories that have been returned to me, the proof is in the pictures...Taffyta I..." she said as she pulled out a photo.

Taffyta pushed it away.

"It wouldn't be right! I was a jerk, and I still have to make up for what I did, even if it was because of what King Candy told us about you...we shouldn't have treated you so badly...and trust me, I remember too, but it's not right for me, for us to go about this, not with everything that has happened..."

Vanellope looked so distressed, her eyes clearly watering up, despite her attempts to keep the tears in.

"But Taffy..." She said in a hushed voice as her eyes widened.

"Vanellope, don't..." Taffyta could barely stand it any longer, especially not with the pet names and Vanellope's puppy eyes. "You know how I feel...I just can't, not with this guilt on my shoulders, not until I make it up to you, because after what I did I don't deserve to even be your friend. The day we got our memories back and you joked about executing us...I was worried because you had every right to, after everything we...After everything I...did to you! I was the worst, I hurt you, pushed you, left you to suffer alone while we all had fun and I don't want that to happen anymore!" She slammed the box shut. Taffyta ran out of the room leaving behind sweet memories, locked back in a box. All she could think about was her regret from the not so distant past.

Vanellope held the photo that Taffyta refused to look at in her hands.

"You dummy...you're hurting me now by pushing me away and making me suffer alone by doing this..." Tears began to gush from her face as she tried to get up to chase after the girl who left the strawberry scent that lingered in the air.

-End Ch 2-


	3. Rancor

Rancis and Candlehead had packed up their bags to commence the prank, nothing too crazy...but still mean spirited.

"You got the CherryBombs from Jubileena right?" Candlehead asked as they drove up to the castle, it was dark at this point, but still a bit early for pranks.

"Yeah, though I had to lie and tell her I was using them to explode some old karts in the Junkyard," Rancis explained "She was somewhat confused but asked to come next time. As much as you love your candle, I think she's a bigger pyromaniac than you are!"

"Ok, yeah, whatever, be quiet..." They parked their karts on the outskirts of the castle. Grabbing their supplies, they walked swiftly through the moonlight. As they were about to walk towards the entrance a devastated Taffyta ran out with tears rolling down her face. Imagine the shock as she tried to gain composure for the two racers in front of her.

"Rancis, Candlehead what are you..." she quickly wiped a tear from her face "doing here?"

"Are you crying?" Rancis began to worry about the blonde girl.

"No...I'm fine, now answer my question." Tafftya demanded.

"Well..."Rancis began to try to explain their true intentions of the evening.

"We felt weird about leaving you with Vanellope, something felt off...like friend ESP, we knew something happened so we rushed over to check on you." Candlehead interjected.

"Well, it's fine, nothing happened...but I'm going home...so you guys can go."

"I thought you were sleeping over?" Rancis replied.

"So something did happen." Candlehead deducted.

"No, I'm just going home, ok? And you should both do the same!" Taffyta said as she began to run off again.

"Taffyta..." Rancis and Candlehead looked at the troubled girl when they heard Vanellope chasing after Taffyta and yelling for her to come back.

This was their cue to hide.

Vanellope looked around... "Taffyta! Please, I'm sorry..."

She began glitching around the courtyard to see if Taffyta was to be found, but she was long gone.

She glitched into her kart and began to drive away to go find Taffyta to sort the issue at hand.

After Vanellope was out of sight Rancis began to wonder if pulling the prank off tonight would be appropriate.

"Hey Candlehead, I think we should do this another night...I think Vanellope has enough on her plate right now." He began to suggest.

"Yeah, plus, we might get caught this early." Candlehead said as she tossed the bag of CherryBombs to Rancis.

"Go ahead and keep those for now, or you can even take Jubileena to actually blow up stuff in the Junkyard."

"If I do then the lie I told wouldn't be a lie anymore." He joked.

"Sure, well I'll see you later."Candlehead said, she seemed distracted.

"Aren't you leaving too?" The boy wondered.

"Yeah I just need to take care of something." Candlehead looked into the distance.

"Ok, just hurry up and leave before Vanellope comes back." Rancis advised her.

"Will do." She replied.

Rancis started up his kart and drove back to his home.

What Rancis didn't realize is that something caught Candlehead's attention.

The racer walked over to the paper that had been tossed around in the wind. When she picked it up, she was not amused by the photo that was in her hands. She flipped it over and the message written on it angered her even more.

In a fit of rage she walked into the castle. She didn't care if Vanellope was on her way back or someone caught her...she was going to take care of this issue, and Vanellope would pay.

She managed to sneak past the guards in the castle, since they appeared to be nowhere in sight. Wynchel and Duncan probably were taking a coffee break. Sneaking up the staircase, she peered around the wall to see if anyone was in the hall. To her advantage, the coast was clear. Walking swiftly down to the end, she quickly reached Vanellope's room.

It was a miracle she hadn't been caught yet, knowing that time wasn't on her side she began to look around the President's room. She tried to see what she could destroy...but upon further thought she realized destroying something would be pointless. Vanellope would be sad, but she could always ask Felix to fix whatever it was that she would destroy.

Thinking further...it would much more painful if she took something important and valuable to Vanellope, something that had true value to her, something...shiny... reflected light into Candlehead's eye. It lay on the bed. It appeared to be a key on a candy ribbon, and then next to it a pink box.

Candlehead picked up the key and tried to open the box with it, with which she was successful. Investigating further in the box, she was even more disgusted and upset.

"This is perfect." She shut the box and shoved it into her jacket then she put the key around her neck. At this point she figured that leaving would be easy. She ran out of the castle with Vanellope's belongings and headed home to continue her revenge.

-End Ch 3-


	4. Frantic

Taffyta drove her kart as fast as she could, her foot like a brick on her gas pedal. She looked in her side mirror to see what she had feared. Vanellope had nearly caught up to her...glitching always posed that advantage.

Luckily she was almost home, as she could see her Strawberry Shortcake themed cottage in the distance. But would she make it in time?

It was a race against the clock now, Vanellope hot on Tafftya's trail of pixie stick dust.

Vanellope's emotions were getting out of control. Did Taffyta really not realize how much she needed her? Did Taffyta forget the way things felt before? How could she explain the pain she felt not being with her...longing for the feelings in the memories of days before Turbo's invasion.

Glitching with even more speed, she still had a way to catch up to Taffyta. But she could see the racer making her way home.

Taffyta somehow managed to beat Vanellope, so she quickly parked and ran out of her kart towards her front door.

Vanellope began to yell, her voice traveled through the thick air "Taffyta, PLEASE, let's talk..."

Taffyta, despite her heart saying one thing, listened to her brain and walked into her home.

Vanellope stopped her kart next to the pink one and glitched over to Tafftya who was about to shut her door.

She pushed her hand on the door, opening it slightly, enough to see an emotionally exhausted Taffyta's face.

"Taffyta...please don't make me go through this alone...I need you, and you need me, we can go through this together...like old times, can't you just think about how happy we were? Just look..."

Taffyta's reason began to crumble as her heart decided to shift into gear.

Vanellope put her hand in her jacket pocket. She began to look for the photo she stuck in it, but couldn't feel it. The worry evident on her face concerned Taffyta, as Vanellope frantically tried to feel for the photo...but it wasn't there.

"Where did it go?" She shrieked... " I can't believe I lost it!" She glitched over to her kart to see if it fell out of her pocket in there.

"What did you lose?" Taffyta suspected the worst and began to worry, but even more so, to get angry.

"The Picture...the picture I was trying to give to you earlier, the one where..." Vanellope's began to glitch.

"I know, I saw it, even if you thought I didn't. Luckily, it's just a picture of you kissing my cheek, that's not too bad."

Vanellope shook her head. "You don't understand, I wrote something on the back of that picture..."

Taffyta understood, but wasn't happy about it.

" We have to find it now!"

Tafftya locked her front door and went over to Vanellope's kart. She sat down in it as Vanellope walked over.

"What are you doing?" Vanellope asked.

"If we're going to have to look for this photo, we might as well talk about what you wanted to while retracing your steps back to the castle." Tafftya explained.

Vanellope nodded in agreement and smiled. But how would she fit in her kart? Her original kart had enough space to fit a racer and a passenger on the side, but she refused to drive it since it reminded her too much of Turbo attacking her during the race...which still gave her nightmares. But her new kart only had space for one person...

Regardless she stepped into her kart and sat in front of Taffyta.

The strawberry racer began to blush, Vanellope's butt, brushed lightly against her face.

"Sorry, it's just a tight space." Vanellope looked back after she sat down realizing her error.

Taffyta sat there like a deer in headlights.

"Taffyta, can you hand me the seat belt?"

Taffyta's hands fumbled as she handed the other girl the seat belt.

Vanellope tried to fasten it around both of them, but it didn't fit.

"It doesn't fit. Fasten it around you, I'll be fine" Vanellope offered.

"Are you sure?" Taffyta managed to chirp.

Vanellope nodded.

Taffyta clicked in the belt around herself.

"Yeah, I would hate to see you get hurt in case something happened."Vanellope told her.

Taffyta worried, but then thought of something.

Vanellope nearly gasped when she felt Taffta's arms wrap around her.

"Wh...what are you...?"

"You need a seat belt too, I'll keep you safe."

Vanellope felt like a cherry bomb about to explode, her face was getting too hot from blushing so much.

But instead she fired up the kart and began to try and focus on the drive back to find the photo.

-End Ch 4-


	5. Vehement

Candlehead had gotten home quite quickly as she ran inside, locking the door and proceeding to shut all her blinds. If she was going to do this, she did not want anyone seeing to testify against her.

She opened the box to find even more photos, and little knick-nacks...trash in her eyes. All these mementos disgusted her. Amongst the rubbish, she happened to find a photo of her, Taffyta and Vanellope which she set to the side. She'd keep that one... or at least part of it. She set the box on her desk, as she began looking for icing, cakeboard, fondant and cookie cutters...basic art supplies. Laying these out, she began her crafty work, cutting out photos, using fondant and icing to "decorate" her large collage. She continued to work as she kept thinking to herself... "Tomorrow, they'll all see why I deserve to be her best friend. Taffyta, you won't have to suffer alone."

She thought of poor Taffyta, who's tears shouldn't have been shed on behalf of Vanellope's revolting confession. Though she would cry too if Vanellope had done the same to her. But Taffyta was stronger and more refined, she would never crack under that pressure...Vanellope must have done something horrible to reduce her to that state. Candlehead would have justice for Taffyta, and revenge on Vanellope. No one would get away with hurting her best friend.


	6. Revelation

Driving quickly back towards the castle Vanellope had her eyes on the road but couldn't fully concentrate. Tafftya's arms around her felt like a welcomed dream of years past, but she had to focus on the road and find the picture she carelessly dropped. And it would be difficult since it was so dark.

"Vanellope, slow down I think I see something!"

The kart slowed down to see what appeared to be a paper floating in the wind. Upon further inspection it was a simple candy wrapper.

The search continued on in a similar manner. Candy wrapper, among candy wrapper, and another candy wrapper...it seemed helpless, but the girls continued on.

In doing so the girls began to talk.

"So Vanellope...you were so urgent to talk before, but you're so quiet now..." Taffyta broke the tension.

Vanellope didn't know how to respond... should she say what was on her mind, or try to be rational about things...

In the end she voted on rational... because all she could think about was the fact that Tafftya's crotch was caressing her butt as they sat in the tight vehicle, and she was not going to bring this up...no matter how much this made her blush. Had Taffyta even realized how close she was?

"Well, it was easier to say I needed to talk than actually express my feelings..." She began to calmly say

"but now my brain is all in a mess, and being near you is making my head all confused."

"Confused, what did I do?"Taffyta sounded offended.

"Not confused..." Vanellope thought she'd better rephrase this, "just I can't think straight because I still am thinking about lots of stuff. Like how much I missed you, and being near you, having you hug me..."

Taffyta started to understand, she began to loosen her fingers that were interlaced in an embrace around Vanellope. "Should I stop holding you if it's distracting...?"

"...No, it's ok..." Vanellope began " it feels nice..."

"Ok, good." Taffyta's embrace tightened again. "but why can't you just talk to me?"

Vanellope began to speak again "If you didn't noticed, I tried earlier, but you ran off..."

"Right..." Taffyta remembered as she felt somewhat stupid, not that she would admit it, ever.

"SO, if anything, what I'm confused about is why you can't figure out what you want to say, because I already did earlier. And now I'm upset because you're just running away from the situation instead of just telling me what you really feel, instead of what you think is the "right thing" to do for me. What is the first thing that pops into your mind right now?"

Taffyta blurted out the first thing that literally popped into her mind...

"Your butt is grinding on my crotch..." Taffyta pointed out.

Both the girls jumped forward a bit as Vanellope had slammed on the break.

"For not talking much, you're pretty forward about that!" Vanellope's heart started pounding like a flat tire on pavement.

Taffyta tried to redeem herself "Well you said what was the first thing, and that was it. You wanted me to be honest and now you don't like my answer."

Vanellope put her foot back on the gas, slowly.

"Yeah, I said that, but I wasn't expecting you to say that...maybe something along the lines of 'you know Vanellope...I understand what I said earlier but..." Vanellope was cut off

"You're butt is still grinding on my crotch..." Taffyta pointed out once more

"Well...maybe your crotch is grinding on my butt...It's a small kart, I can't help it!" Vanellope's blush was evident...

"I didn't say it was a bad thing."Taffyta admitted.

Vanellope couldn't handle it and pulled over. She stepped out of the kart as she walked over to a jaw breaker and sat on it, with her face in her hands. She began to cry.

Taffyta was extremely concerned and confused as she unfastened the seat belt around her and walked towards Vanellope.

"What just happened?" Taffyta placed her hand on Vanellope's head, as she rubbed her hair, getting a bit of candy on her gloves.

Vanellope pulled her knees in and then burrowed her head into her arms, which were now folded.

"y...fmrst aqmt..."Vanellope was muttering into her sleeves.

"I can't hear you, what's wrong?" Tafftya tried to lift the girl's face up by the chin

When she lifted up Vanellope's face, she was covered in tears

"You're what's wrong...you first say that you can't be with me because it's not right after what happened and then you keep playing these games with me...acting like you still like me...but I can't take it!"

"That's because I do still like you Vanellope."

"Yeah right, if you did you wouldn't make me go through this much suffering, you wouldn't make me go through this alone."

"You're right, I shouldn't make you go through this alone...I guess it's because I just want to keep you safe...and I'm probably not the best person to be around. But in order to keep you safe, we need to talk about this later. We need to find that picture and get you home before Sour Bill realizes how long you've been out." Taffyta gently caressed the sad girl's face, wiping Vanellope's tears off her cheeks.

Vanellope nodded in agreement as she got up from her fetal position and the two got back into the kart and drove off.

-End Ch. 6-


	7. Awake

After some time the racers decided the search was futile. With hours of searching for the photo they had no luck, it was gone. But the better question was where did it go?

The two unsuccessful girls arrived at the castle, as Vanellope parked her kart.

Taffyta and Vanellope were exhausted and needed some rest, and Vanellope grabbed Taffyta's hand.

"Lets go to bed, it'll be lucky if we get enough sleep for the random roster race." Vanellope stated as she felt resistance in her hand from the other racer.

She looked at Taffyta who had a bit of a concerned expression.

"What's wrong?" She asked hoping Taffyta hadn't already reverted back to her previous attitude on the situation.

"I just...how do I get home?" Taffyta asked.

"Uh...I thought you were gonna sleepover..." Vanellope was really trying to hold back her anger as she clenched her teeth.

"...that's not weird... right? I'm just sleeping over..." Taffyta asked for reassurance.

"No it's not weird. But I do apologize if I drool, it tends to happen when I'm all out of fuel." Vanellope joked.

Taffyta smiled and they both walked towards the main door.

"As long as you don't drool on me, then it's ok." Taffyta remarked.

"I can't make any promises."

Vanellope opened the door, it was around 4 am, and the castle was silent...The two quietly tiptoed up to Vanellope's room.

With no encounters from Sour Bill, Wynchel or Duncan, Vanellope slowly turned the knob on her door and closed it.

Relief filled the girls faces as the door was shut behind them.

"Well at least you didn't get caught, where in the world is everyone?" Taffyta asked.

"Who knows, probably sleeping...I'm going to have a stern talking to with Wynchel and Duncan...they're suppose to be the palace guards but they're nowhere to be found. They're lucky that nothing happened here." Vanellope took a note of this on her to-do list.

"So, uh, I'm tired. Do you mind if we go to bed?" Taffyta mentioned.

"Sure, let me get ready-" Vanellope glitched and then came back with her pajamas on and a tooth brush in her mouth. She was wearing a nightshirt, it was mint green and went to her upper thigh. Taffyta couldn't help but blush at the sight. What was wrong with her? They were both so exhausted and Taffyta couldn't help but think about how adorable Vanellope looked.

Vanellope noticed but tried to keep things cool. "I have another set of pajamas in the drawer for you." She glitched over and pulled them out. "I hope you don't mind since their not pink..." She handed them over to Taffyta. These pajamas were a tank top and shorts set. The tank top was striped with mint green and white and the shorts were brown with a mint green trim.

Even Vanellope's clothes were cute...Taffyta thought as she grabbed the pajamas.

"You can change in the closet," Vanellope had finished brushing her teeth and put away her toothbrush.

Taffyta nodded and walked over to Vanellope's closet, closing the door behind her.

The closet in itself was larger than Taffyta's own room, not that Taffyta minded as she was now surrounded by elegant dresses, millions of shoes and fabulous accessories. She remembered all too well the times they played dress up, and how Vanellope would let her try on her princess dress.

"_The pink suits you" Vanellope would say as Taffyta admired the flowing pink gown._

"_Yeah...maybe one day I could be a princess too!"_

"_Maybe, but I think __**Queen**__ would suit you better" _

Taffyta thought back on these moments and smiled...holding the gown to her face...it still smelled like the princess turned president. She laughed to herself and said "I could have been a queen too...if only..." She let go of the gown and tried to push the thought out of her mind. She finished changing and walked out of the closet to find Vanellope already passed out and sprawled over her bed...

She made her way over to the bed and sat down on it. Wriggling under the sheets, she let her head rest on the pillow as she looked over at Vanellope's face. Taffyta couldn't help but notice Vanellope's long eyelashes and cute nose.

Taffyta kissed the girl's forehead. " I love you... drool and all." as the pile of drool on Vanellope's pillow had already formed. The lights shut off and Taffyta drifted off to sleep.

-End Ch. 7-


	8. Fruition

**_(This chapter has some language in it that some might find offensive or derogatory, please keep in mind that the opinions of certain characters do not reflect my own in any way and the terms used are in context of adding to the story and nothing more.)-PrincessGlitch_**

* * *

The new day had already started for the other citizens of Sugar Rush. Sour Bill was preparing for the random roster race as the wide-eyed racers cleaned, and juiced up their karts for the race.

One racer had been doing some extra preparations for the race, but not for her kart. Candlehead was taking it easy now that her plan was about to unfold, all the necessary precautions were made and all it would take place right before the race...and now she just had to wait for the star of the show.

Vanellope and Taffyta had woken up a bit late due to their late night adventure and were still getting ready. Luckily Sour Bill had already had their breakfast arranged, and sent up to the room by Duncan and Wynchel, which is what woke the girls up. After quickly eating their breakfast Taffyta was taken back to her home so she could get ready and get her kart by Duncan.

Vanellope was currently brushing her hair as she looked into her vanity mirror in a dreamlike wonder. She thought about how much had progressed in just one night, Taffyta was willing to consider reestablishing their relationship and that was more than she could have ever hoped for the evening. She giggled to herself in such happiness. But she knew she had other things that needed to be done so she began to hurry up. Vanellope got up and glitched into her closet and quickly changed and was ready. Grabbing her goggles and key that were hanging next to her door, she made her way out of the room to leave the Castle.

Vanellope arrived at the track as she got her kart into the starting position. All seemed well and good, but Taffyta was still missing. "Sorry I got here so..." The minute countdown had already started, but how? She hadn't given her signal to Sour Bill. Sour Bill seemed too distracted with trying to fix the system.

Something seemed off to Vanellope, as she looked at the other racers who looked at her, a majority in disgust and anger.

"Are you guys ok? It looks like you guys want to punch a puppy." Vanellope tried to lighten the racers moods

"Well, if anyone's punching animals, it's you, you pussy puncher!" Crumbelina retorted.

Vanellope's face quickly shifted as her joking smile became concerned in shock.

"Crumbelina, why did you say th..." Vanellope looked to the side at the Big Screen, where the race map would have been, which was altered.

Her eyes widened.

Plastered on the screen was a fully decorated, digital copy of the picture she lost last night and the back with the message she had written out to Taffyta, among other little love notes, with fondant borders and icing that spelled out 'Vanellope Von Clits".

"Who, how..." She thought about the box. Those love notes were in the box...how did someone get those? But then she realized in her sleepiness that indeed the box was missing from the bed that she left it on last night. How could she have missed something so crucial like that?!

" _Taffy, you drive me so crazy...I love you sugar cube!_" Adorabeezle mocked Vanellope's message.

" _'Oh, Taffyta...I love you soooooo much' _, YOUR SUCH A DYKE" Snowanna taunted.

Vanellope didn't know what to do, her heart began beating too fast and she felt like she was going to have a panic attack. ..or throw up...or both. She just wanted to get out of there, so she started up her kart and began driving. She drove past Jubileena who yelled "Stay away you freak, I don't want you trying to pop my cherry!"

"Should have know that the GLITCH was a LESBO BITCH!" Minty harshly remarked.

Rancis and Gloyd looked at each other, in concern for Vanellope, but too afraid to say a word.

Within the thirty seconds that Vanellope had been at the track, she had already glitched herself away, back to the castle, alone.

.

Everything went better than Candlehead had ever dreamed, thank god Taffyta hadn't shown up or this may have been too stressful for poor innocent Taffyta, victim of Vanellope's love. With a small remote in her hand she changed the Big Screen back to the map as the race was about to begin.

3...2...1..

And the race began.

Taffyta rolled up to the track as she noticed the race already commenced and was royal pissed off. "What the hell Vanellope, why did you start the race without me?!" she yelled as she began to floor her gas pedal in an attempt to still get a good ranking. Collecting some sugar cubes aided to her cause as she used some of the items to slow down the other racers, something she always used to her advantage. Plus, seeing Jubileena get Ala Mode'd was always priceless.

But as she progressed along the race she wondered where Vanellope was. But she dismissed this and assumed that Vanellope was most likely in first place. Passing many others, Taffyta got up to the front...but to her surprise Vanellope was not in the lead. Candlehead had zoomed past the others by using the cherry bomb to her advantage. This confused Taffyta even more, perhaps Vanellope had taken a secret shortcut, but at the moment all she could do was see Candlehead's big grin turn into a frown when she caught sight of her.

"I'm going to beat the icing out of you!" Taffyta yelled jestingly as she pressed down on the gas pedal, accelerating past Candlehead.

It'd been a while since Candlehead had been in such a high spot in a race, it reminded Taffyta of all the races she had won when King Candy was still here. She and Candlehead would always be neck in neck, Rancis would give her a run for her coins too! She laughed upon these fond memories...

King Candy was a jerk to Vanellope, but really he did treat the rest of the racers like family, and they all had a good time.

"Don't think I'm gonna let you win, for old times sake!" She maniacally chirped as Candlehead's face and candle lit up with joy.

This was the Taffyta she was best friends with, she was still her old, competitive, self.

Taffyta was going crazy with adrenaline. She could see the finish line in sight, and with no Vanellope around she knew she was going to win first place.

First place, it had been so long since she held that title. Vanellope's reappearance as an official racer left her in a second place ranking. Taffyta wasn't so upset by this...but as she crossed the finish line she remembered just how satisfying first place really was.

Jumping out of her car she did a little victory jump and screamed "First Place, there's nothing better than Muttonfudge!"

Candlehead rolled in as second place and went over to congratulate her companion.

"Taffyta, you were amazing! How did you even get that much speed...it was incredible!" She said as she hugged the Strawberry racer.

"Hah, you know I'm the best racer here, Candlehead...speaking of here...where's Vanellope? I'd like to give her a piece of my mind for starting the roster race without me!" Taffyta said as she took off her racing helmet.

"Oh, Vanellope..." Candlehead stuttered.

Taffyta looked at Candlehead, slightly worried. "Did something happen?"

"Oh,no...she's just not feeling all too well so she didn't race today. That's why the race started without you since you were late." Candlehead explained, not lying, but also not telling the truth.

"Is she feeling sick, what's wrong? Maybe I should go check on her..."Taffyta began to walk back to her kart as she mumbled incoherent words to herself.

After all her hard work Candlehead was not going to let Taffyta just leave like this.

"No no, she was just not feeling up to it today. I think she'd want you to make sure everything was working for when the Arcade opens today." Candlehead suggested.

"You think so?" Taffyta said.

"Well you are the only one around here who can handle such a situation besides her." Candlehead commented.

"I suppose your right..." Taffyta said, looking into the distance at the Castle...Vanellope was probably just tired from last night...but to really miss a race? Nonetheless, the arcade would open soon and with Vanellope out on the job, Taffyta stepped up to make sure the game would go smoothly.

And so for the first time since Vanellope reset the game, the arcade would open without her.


	9. Resolute

Across Litwak's Arcade a certain wrecker was working away as a gamer had put in a coin to play. Ralph was eagerly awaiting his daily wave at Vanellope when he gets hoisted off the roof and thrown into the mud. It was one of his favorite parts of the day, despite getting dirty, because he was able to see Vanellope working hard to be a top notch racer.

To Ralph's surprise, as the Nicelanders lifted him up to throw him off the building, Vanellope had not won the race. His eyes widened as he saw Taffyta, of all racers, holding the first place cup.

He began thinking to himself as he fell into the mud. Obviously Vanellope had won every one of her races, but Taffyta was the top racer before Vanellope returned so it made some sense that Vanellope was bound to lose a few races to her.

But the more rounds were played, Ralph saw no Vanellope and began to become extremely concerned.

After winning another consecutive race Taffyta felt amazing. She stood proudly as she held up another trophy. She finally noticed Ralph on the roof across the arcade. The two locked eyes...and Taffyta smiled, but Ralph was clearly not amused as he glared at her.

This frightened Taffyta a bit, what the fudge was his problem? She avoided looking back at Fix-it Felix Jr. for the rest of the day but she still wondered what had Ralph's overalls in a bunch.

Ralph could not wait for the arcade to close so he could go figure out what the heck was going on in the candy coated heart of darkness. Once Litwak's arcade had an all clear from Yuni Berth in the DDR machine, Ralph ran over to the small train track and headed to Game Central Station.

"Taffyta, you were amazing today!" Candlehead said as she patted Taffyta's back. The other racers had parked their karts.

"What do you say we head to Tapper's for some root beer floats?" Candlehead suggested.

"I really should be going to..." Taffyta began.

"Aww come on Taffyta, you know it's been forever since we went out to Tapper's for a celebratory drink." Minty chimed in.

"I suppose a few root beers wouldn't hurt..." Taffyta said as she thought about what had happened earlier today and why Ralph was so angry. But she would talk to him later, she didn't want to let her friends down by not hanging out with them. And with that the racers made there way over to Tappers.

By the time Ralph made it over to Sugar Rush the racers were gone, though with the fact that the Fix-it Felix Jr. train was slower than a pack mule it was to be expected.

He made his way over to the castle looking for Vanellope, but was greeted by Sour Bill.

"Oh...it's you," Sour Bill said stepping back behind the door...remembering the trauma that was being inside Ralph's filthy mouth. "What is it that you need?"

"Whe...re's...Va...Vanellope?" Ralph was out of breath for he had ran all the way from across the game. He pushed open the door to get inside, pushing Sour Bill up against the wall.

"Oh sorry, forgot and my own strength..." Ralph began to wipe his face.

"Do you need some water?" Sour Bill offered him a glass off the table near the door, looking at the sweat glistening on Ralph's forehead.

"Actually that'd be...No, NO...Where is Vanellope?!" Ralph shrugged off the little candy.

"Beats me, I haven't seen her since this morning after her sleepover with Taffyta." Sour Bill replied looking at Ralph, he was much cleaner than before, but I suppose that was due to the new apartment complex that Ralph and Felix built for the new residents in the game. Yet he was still covered in mud since he just got off of work, and Sour Bill took note of this as the newly polished floor was now covered in goopy foot prints.

"A sleepover with Taffyta?!" Ralph asked, wondering if perhaps Taffyta had done something to Vanellope. "I knew that something was up with that girl..."

Ralph began running outside.

"Where are you going?" Sour Bill yelled.

"I got some business to attend to." Ralph said running towards his new target.

-End Ch. 9-


	10. Loyality

Taffyta tried to sit and enjoy the company of her friends, but she felt bad not checking in with Vanellope...things were kind of left off at an awkward stage between them. What exactly were they going to do, what was their relationship status, and how would they tell the other racers? Perhaps it was better to keep it a secret like before... but things are different now and she was sure the other racers would probably accept her..._**probably**_...

She took a sip of her root beer float as Tapper brought over another round, courtesy of Candlehead.

"This is great, just like old times, eh Taffyta?! OH SO MANY FUN TIMES" Candlehead spazzed as she was on her 4th glass of root beer floats and was on a sugar rush...and twitching a bit.

"Yeah...but it would be more fun if everyone was here..." Taffyta sighed.

"Yeah, it's weird without King Candy...he always paid for the drinks..." Candlehead said holding her glass up to her lips and her eye twitching .

"I'm not talking about him! I wish Vanellope was here, she would of loved this..." Taffyta looked down at her own glass and pushed it forward, unable to drink more.

"Not as much as she lovessss you..." Minty laughed.

"MINTY!" Candlehead shrieked.

"WHAT?!" Tafftya's face began to turn red and her heart began to pound...she looked around at the racers and at Candlehead and tried to compose herself...

"What do you mean?"Taffyta asked when suddenly...

A giant thundering noise was heard in the distance and then the wall exploded. Wood and drywall flew everywhere, and covered the bar with dust and debris.

In the midst of all the dust was a familiar face...one she had seen earlier in the day.

Ralph's glare pierced through her like a thousand sharpened candy canes.

"YOU!" Ralph pointed at Taffyta.

"I didn't do anything! Please don't hurt me..." Taffyta said trying to not pee herself, looking for the nearest exit.

Ralph walked over to the trembling girl and stared her down.

"I should've beat the cream filling out of you before, but now you haven't learned a thing and you're going to pay..."

"WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?!" Taffyta began to cry.

"YOU..." Ralph started to actually think about this...he had kind of just assumed Taffyta did something to hurt Vanellope...he never actually bothered to check up on Vanellope himself...

"You...got to come with me to talk to Vanellope..." Ralph tried to calm down.

"Van...Vanellope?" Taffyta still in tears but began to stop. "Is she still not feeling well?"

Jubileena began to laugh "Feeling well? She's disturbed , after she's been exposed I'm not surprised..."

Taffyta began to realize she missed something very crucial this morning when she was late.

Candlehead's calm demeanor was slowly cracking...Taffyta couldn't handle the truth.

"Before the race someone highjacked the Big Screens and you wouldn't believe it, Vanellope Von Glitch likes Chicks!" Adorabeezle chuckled. "The whole screen was plastered with love notes that she wrote...and the best part is that she's in love with you!" She began howling with laughter.

Taffyta looked at all the racers and then to Ralph...

"That's not true..." Ralph said trembling "you're joking...who would frame her like that?"

"It ain't a joke blockhead, it's the real deal...she's a lesbo!" Crumbelina scoffed "And the worst part is she fell in love with the straightest girl in the room!" She pointed at Taffyta and laughter began to fill the air.

Rancis and Gloyd were silent...there were no words they could muster up.

At this point Taffyta had heard enough. "SILENCE" she commanded.

The room got quiet.

"Who did it? Who was so brave and bold to put all that up?" Taffyta said.

Candlehead looked around as to pretend to see if anyone else was to blame. But no one said anything.

"Fine, too scared to say it now that it's happened, too afraid to own up to your actions?" Taffyta said.

"Vanellope's our friend, and if you really cared about her as a friend you wouldn't be such jerks to her about it. It's hard enough for her to be accepted back after everything that happened with Turbo. You hurt her then, and I thought you guys would've learned by now that what you did then was wrong and moved on from tormenting her. I hope you guys are satisfied, but I'm going to fix your mistakes. Let go Ralph..." She grabbed the big man's hand and walked him out of the giant hole that was now in the wall of Tapper's.

"Wait Taffyta..." Candlehead mustered as she stepped forward.

Taffyta stopped, shaking with anger.

"We did it for you, we wanted to protect you. You shouldn't have a best friend like THAT" Candlehead explained.

"Yeah"

"For you Taffyta" The other racers began to chime in.

"I'm disappointed that THAT is your excuse" Her voice trembling in anger, and her hands balled up into fists "...and you know what?" She said turning back at the racers who where stricken with fear "...I LOVE HER TOO!."

All their jaws dropped as Taffyta exited the building, Candlehead falling to her knees and her tears soon followed.

-End Ch. 10-


	11. Interrogation

It had been some time now and Ralph was sitting on the back of Pink Lightning, holding on for dear life as Taffyta drove as fast as she could. Taffyta and Ralph had already began their journey back into Sugar Rush. Both were silent, Taffyta was unsure of how to handle the situation but kept her eye on Diet Cola Mountain, Vanellope had to be there...she was sure of it.

Ralph on the other hand was mumbling incoherent words to himself, he seemed a little dazed and confused.

To break the silence, and the awkward tension, Taffyta did her best to start a conversation.

"_So._..you said we need to go talk to Vanellope, right?"

Ralph's face finally looked at the short racer.

"Yeah...she wasn't at the castle, and _so I assumed_..." Ralph said.

"_Assumed I hurt her_?" Taffyta rolled her eyes.

"_Well yeah_, the little pip-squeak's been making you chase circles around her, been at the top rank for weeks!" Ralph boasted, proud of the Vanellope's ranking.

Taffyta glared.

"Come, on... you know she's good! So when you kept winning today, it was a bit off to me..._plus I never got to wave to her today_..."

Taffyta looked at him "_Wave_? OH so that's why you were so pissed earlier today!"

Ralph blushed. "Yeah, _so what_? It's one of the things I look forward to, it's not fun getting thrown in the mud you know!" He looked down at the heart-shaped cookie that he had around his neck as he held onto it lightly. "_She means so much to me_, and to know she is hurt...it gets me angry, the little twerp could be in trouble...but I think I know where she is."

"Really?" Taffyta wondered...how could he possibly know?

"Yeah she's probably at her secret hideout, where she lived when Turbo messed with her code." Ralph nodded.

"_Secret hideout_?" Taffyta questioned. "The only place that I can think of her being at would be if she was in our old maaaa...I mean in Diet Cola Mountain, that's where I thought would be the best place to look."

"_Wait,_ how do you know about that? That was a secret that no one else knew..." Ralph was getting very defensive, and felt like an older brother interrogating his little sister's first boyfriend. But this wasn't a boy...and that intimidated him even more.

"_Do you really need to know_?" Taffyta said in hesitation.

"Well kinda! You don't just know about our secret hideout from nowhere!" Ralph said, feeling a bit violated.

"YOUR secret hideout?!" Taffyta was enraged, "The only reason Vanellope probably even found that spot is because of her subconscious memories of OUR secret make-out spot, so don't feel so entitled..._Who do you think marked the entrance with Crossed Lollipops_?!"

Ralph's head was spinning..."_You're lying..._" he said as his stomach felt sick.

" Why would I lie? Outing yourself isn't the most pleasant situation! You know she had a life before you came along buddy... she's not the little girl _you_ think she is. She has a lot of memories from when she was a princess too...you think that stuff just _goes away_?" Taffyta said as the two made their way towards the mountain.

Ralph was beginning to doubt himself and everything he knew. He couldn't fully grasp that Vanellope's life had already been established before he came into the picture, and the life that she lived during Turbo's time wasn't all she knew. It was now obvious that Vanellope and Taffyta had some type of history, but the question that lingered in his mind is how far did that history go?

He started becoming more and more concerned about this issue.

"So you guys... _were dating_?" He tried to calm down.

"_UH YEAH_...but we didn't tell anyone because if you didn't see by their reactions back there...not exactly the most accepting crowd...and clearly_ neither are you_..." Taffyta pointed out.

"_For how long_...?" Ralph continued to prod for the details.

"Long enough..." Taffyta sighed getting tired of his interrogation.

"But that's all you did,_ right_?" Ralph questioned.

Taffyta's eyes widened and her voice cracked, "FIRST OF ALL..._THAT IS NOT YOUR BUSINESS_!"

She tried to compose herself, "you pervert..._what are you thinking about_?"

Ralph began to try and justify his curiosity, "NO, it's just, _kids these days_ and the...um...Vanellope is so_ innocent_ and...I just want to protect her..."

"_Well you don't need to worry about that_...now that I'm here I'll protect her like I used to..."Taffyta said as they finally made it to the crossed lollipop entrance of Diet Cola Mountain.

-End Ch. 11-


	12. Melted

Vanellope had been curled up on her little cake of a bed, bundled up like a little homeless lady. Her tears had been gushing for some time now, and no matter how much she tried to stop crying the pain and embarrassment from earlier opened up the dam that was her tear duct.

She tried to think logically. Why should she be embarrassed? It was that kind of thinking that made who she is a joke to the other racers. If they could only understand that it was something she couldn't control, that this was part of her code. But even the glitching that is part of her code was still a problem to some of them, how could she expect them to accept her over this?

She pondered over that as the real heartbreak continued to plague her.

What was Taffyta doing?

Vanellope was unsure of the time that had passed, being in the mountain with no way to see outside she had no way to measure time. But she continued to wonder what had happened to Taffyta...

Had she too been ridiculed and ran off or was she … happy to be rid of her?

She held onto her knees as her fetal position tightened.

That was probably it...Taffyta had a better life before Turbo was discovered. Why would Taffyta want to give that all up, even if it was for her and their past? For a Glitchy Spazzy girl like herself...She couldn't see why Taffyta even bothered in the first place. It was better this way...It was better to hide.

But she still wished Taffyta would come find her. That's why she choose this spot, only she and Taffyta knew about it, and of course Ralph, but he must have had better things to do. With all the new characters he had to take care of from the abandoned games he had a lot on his hands...it was his new duty, and a big one at that. If any of those characters got hurt there would be no way of completely healing them, and if they died...no regeneration. All that was on Ralph's shoulders. She'd be shocked if he managed to think about her.

And so she lay there, thinking of what to do...but lacking the strength to get back up. Instead she grabbed some cookies and began to munch on them with her now melted ice cream. It was her and Taffyta's favorite... but none of that mattered now. She couldn't explain it but she just felt defeated, which was unlike her...but with no support it, felt like a hopeless mess.

Ralph and Taffyta made their way into the Mountain, passing through the holographic wall blocking the entrance. Sobs were heard echoing through the tunnel. Both Ralph and Taffyta gave each other a pained frown...seems they found her.

"Vanellope..." Ralph said, hoping to calm the racer...as both he and Taffyta moved to her little trash pile.

"Ralph?" Vanellope said mid sob, wiping the snot from her nose onto her sleeve from all her crying. As she moved the wrapper off her face. She began to sit up.

"Stop your crying, you little snot nosed brat...someone else is here to see ya too." Ralph chuckled, as he moved to the side so Vanellope could see Taffyta.

"Vanellope...I..." Taffyta said as the snot nosed racer quickly covered her face...

"No, Taffyta, don't look..."Vanellope protested, as Taffyta walked next to Vanellope's cake bed.

"Schweetheart..." Taffyta cooed as she lifted up the wrapper from Vanellope's face.

"No...I look gross..." Vanellope said trying to hide again.

Her little pink nose was encrusted in a layer of snot, and her makeup had smeared quite a bit.

"Since when do you wear makeup?" Ralph laughed "You're face reminds me of Taffyta's when she was balling her eyes out after you became a racer again."

Both girls glared at him.

"Sorry just trying to lighten the mood..." Ralph retreated back a few steps as he looked at the two girls, already holding hands.

Things were going to get a lot more complicated than he had hoped for.

-End Ch. 12-


	13. Pretense

Ch 13

Candlehead and the other racers were still at Tappers, cleaning up the mess Ralph made since Tapper refused to let them leave without fixing things up. At least he said he'd get Felix to fix the giant hole in the wall in the morning before the arcade opened, so all they had to do was sweep everything up into a trashcan and clean the tables and mop up.

They were all still in shock from what had happened only moments ago.

"How could Taffyta be a lesbian.," Candlehead said to herself " and be in love with Vanellope of all people?" She had stopped while leaning on a broomstick, Swizzle taking notice of this and her words.

Swizzle wasn't really one to meddle in others affairs, he liked to sit on the sidelines and let things happen naturally, which he would then use to his benefit. He had sat on the sidelines during the big fight earlier because he didn't see why everyone was so pissed off, but decided it was best not to get involved. Though he worried for all of them, and their lack of better judgment. He saw the plagued look on Candlehead's face and became concerned for her...

Swizzle Malarkey wasn't a dumb boy, despite what the other racers thought of him. It was clearly obvious to him what was playing out in front of him. It was even more obvious than the fact that Rancis and Gloyd were totally making goo-goo eyes at each other from across the room, while wiping off the tables. He wasn't sure how the other racers didn't realize this but he decided to confront Candlehead about it in a way to ease her into a topic he already knew she wouldn't want to discuss.

"Hey Candlehead," He whispered as he nudged the arm she was using to lean on the broom.

She stumbled a little, but regained her balance. "What was that for, you jerk?!" She began rubbing her arm, as it was now feeling numb.

"Have you noticed Gloyd and Rancis...?" Swizzle began to leap into the conversation he had just mentally practiced

She looked over at the two boys "What about them?"

"They are totally eye-fucking right now..." Swizzle discreetly motioned at the two.

She looked over again to see that in fact their gaze did not falter as they wiped off the tables, doing a horrible job since they were so distracted.

"Well duh- what do you expect? It's Rancis and Gloyd...no one has to say it... they totally have the Red Hots for each other." Candlehead dismissed this observation, as she found it pretty stupid, picking up the broom and sweeping again

"So you're ok with them going out?" Swizzle gave her a concerned look, for show of course.

"Well yeah, Rancis is one of my best friends. I just want him to be happy." Candlehead was working on a pile that consisted of a few bricks, some drywall and a hairball.

"Well, doesn't Taffyta deserve to be happy?" He said hitting the nail.

She froze for a moment.

"Well yes, but I don't think she's thinking things through. Taffyta has always been one to look for the spotlight, and now that Vanellope's top racer, what better way to promote herself than to be Vanellope's girlfriend...I don't think she realizes the consequences of this..." Candlehead began her horrible lie.

But Swizzle could see through it.

"I don't think so, she seemed super pissed off. If she didn't care about Vanellope, like Gloyd and Rancis do for each other, she wouldn't have reacted that way."

"Ok, but still isn't it a little weird, it's out of nowhere. I don't believe it, you don't become gay overnight! She would have told me, I'm her best friend! Why wouldn't she tell me?" Candlehead had stopped working again. "She is my best friend, and Vanellope thinks she can come back and take her away from me..."

"But Candlehead, you guys were all best friends before, why are you fighting so much for Taffyta now?"

"It's the principle Swizzle! Vanellope shows up after all this time, she thinks she can claim what rightfully is mine and get away with it!"

"But she isn't yours Candlehead, she is dating Vanellope and even Vanellope doesn't own or control her."

By this point the other racers were listening in to the newest event that was unfolding before them.

Candlehead looked around, noticing this and became very very nervous, her heart began beating at what felt like a million rpm.

"I have to go..."

Candlehead made her way out of the front door of Tapper's and drove as fast as she could to her home back in Sugar Rush.

-End Ch 13-


End file.
